Frank, fiery, and softhearted senior sister × a brooding, vengeful junior brother with a secret, forbidden love (past life)
A fake little sunshine with a sharp tongue and a clingy junior sister × an aloof, possessive, secretly adorable senior brother (present life)
The night wind drove the cold rain against the window lattice.
Yang Zhanyue rested her chin on her hand. Wine flushed her cheeks, and her bright eyes gleamed as she watched Xie Yangling meditate beneath the lamp.
"I'm going down the mountain tomorrow."
He didn't raise his lashes. "What for?"
She smiled faintly. "Wen Ciyan wants to see me."
At last, he opened his eyes and looked at her. The wind pressed the flame low, and his shadow washed over her like a tide.
"Go ahead."
Yang Zhanyue was surprised by how readily he agreed.
"He should know, too," he said in a quiet voice, "that you spend every night here with me."
*
The following is told from the heroine's perspective:
I was born surrounded by dazzling glory. From the moment I could remember, I was the heir to Chaoge, a figure above tens of thousands. The world called me the Young Lord, and the five peaks and thirty-six pavilions bowed before me.
My mother, the Empress, was renowned for her beauty, with countless admirers at her feet. Though I never knew who my father was, all her old friends treated me like their own daughter.
Everyone told me I was the Empress's true-blooded heir, and that the vast lands of Chaoge and the legacy of Tangtai were mine from birth.
As she lay dying, the Empress gave me one piece of advice: Don't take everything so seriously.
At the time, I was too young to understand.
She had built a hundred-year legacy with her own hands. Having inherited her station and her teachings, surely I ought to defend every inch of our realm to the death. What did she mean by taking things lightly and living as I pleased?
Xie Yangling was my lifelong nemesis. His talent was extraordinary, and he was my equal in every way.
I still remember how, while the whole world fawned over me, he alone smashed my statue, destroyed my nameplate, and avoided me like the plague. It seemed the rumors that he hated me were true.
And sure enough, in the end, he followed his elders into rebellion, betrayed and murdered his lord, and brought down my Luantai.
As civil war spread like wildfire, the day I died, the fires of Shuofang burned for three days and three nights.
The flames devoured Luantai. Blades tore through my flesh and shattered my bones. I was buried beneath a sky full of swords.
When I opened my eyes again, my soul had been restored, and I had returned from the flames.
My cultivation was unchanged, and my whole, unaltered female body had returned to me.
In this life, my purpose is crystal clear.
Execute the elders who betrayed the pavilions, settle accounts with the remaining rebels, find my beloved, fulfill the marriage I missed in my youth, and personally reclaim every mountain and river that should have been mine.
As far as I know, Xie Yangling is the chief culprit who personally sent me to my death, and the first person I intend to take revenge on.
So I concealed my identity from my previous life and entered the Xuanyin Pavilion under an assumed name, calling him senior brother and myself his junior sister.
I act gentle and humble, playing along at every turn. Beneath the surface, a cold blade is always waiting. Every word is a disguise, as I bide my time for the perfect chance to strike a fatal blow.
At last, the moment arrives. With a short blade pressed to his heart, I stand face-to-face with him.
I can hear his heart pounding like a war drum, while a heavy fog fills my eyes.
I assume he is afraid.
But the fog suddenly clears. He raises his eyes, and his gaze is like a thousand butterflies flying to their deaths...
Synopsis screenshot taken: 2026.9.3
Reader's guide:
1. The main story is told in third person!
2. Written to indulge my tastes. It's romance-focused, with the leads constantly circling around each other. No career or political plot, just romance. This is not a triumphant revenge story about a strong female lead.
3. The heroine was forcibly transformed into a man in her previous life. The reason will be explained in the story. Please don't read if that bothers you.
4. In the heroine's previous life and the early part of her present life, she and the second male lead have mutual feelings!
Theme: I alone can bear a weight of a thousand measures
